FAMU College of Law Exceeds State Average in Bar Exams

Law student Herrittaccei Shabazz stands in front of the FAMU College of Law building in Orlando, Florida.

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) College of Law achieved a 73.6 percent passage rate on the July 2014 Florida Bar Exam, besting the overall average for the second time within two years.

FAMU’s 73.6 percent passage rate was higher than the overall average of 71.8 percent.

“The latest results help to solidify the direction we have taken to establish ourselves as the law school of choice for a broad range of individuals seeking to make law their career,” said LeRoy Pernell, College of Law Dean. “Our bar results continue to trend upward as a result of the strong curriculum and bar preparation programs we’ve implemented, further illustrating that the FAMU College of Law is a law school on the rise.”

This is FAMU’s highest July bar passage rate to date, second only to its highest first-time bar passage rate of 82.6 percent in February 2013. Since 2009, the College of Law’s bar passage rate has improved by more than 20 percentage points.

“Congratulations to our distinguished graduates of the FAMU College of Law,” President Elmira Mangum, Ph.D. said. “This is a remarkable achievement given the law school’s commitment to providing access and opportunities to underserved communities. Moreover, it shows that FAMU is on the move when it comes to producing graduates who are not only well-equipped contributors to their respective fields, but are also able to provide solutions to the needs of the global community.”

In addition to the recent performance on the bar exam, the FAMU College of Law also saw its applications increase by 16 percent for the 2014-2015 academic year, while other law schools saw a decrease in applications.

The National Jurist magazine recently ranked the FAMU College of Law on its “Top 10 for Diversity” list. The College has also been named No.1 among the “10 Best Bargain Law Schools” by On Being a Black Lawyer. The law school was recently notified that it was listed as a “Best Bargain” Law School for Latina/o Law Students in the 2015 edition of the Latina/o Student’s Guide to Law Schools.

About the FAMU College of Law

The FAMU College of Law was founded in 1949 on the main campus in Tallahassee. After graduating 57 lawyers, the law school was closed by the State of Florida in 1968. The Florida Legislature voted to reopen the law school in 2000, and Orlando was selected as the location. The re-established FAMU College of Law opened its doors in 2002 and is now housed in a state-of-the-art facility in downtown Orlando. The FAMU College of Law received full accreditation from the American Bar Association in July 2009, and accreditation was continued in July 2014. The FAMU College of Law has been consistently recognized for its diversity efforts by U.S. News & World Report, National Jurist, and On Being a Black Lawyer – which also named the College of Law as the Best Bargain Law School in the Nation for black law students in 2013.